The US, Japan, India and Australia yesterday expressed concern over the militarization of the East and South China seas on the heels of a flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of the other three nations met in New Delhi under the auspices of a grouping they call the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly called “the Quad.”
The latest meeting, on the sidelines of a G20 gathering in the Indian capital, comes weeks after Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing following an alleged Chinese spy balloon’s flight over the US.
Photo: AFP
In a joint statement, the Quad called for “the importance of adherence to international law” in the seas “to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order.”
“We strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo or increase tensions in the area,” it said.
“We express serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia and efforts to disrupt other countries’ offshore resource exploitation activities,” the statement said.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which massive amounts of trade passes annually.
It has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis and built bases in the waters, alarming Washington and other Asian countries with territorial claims in the waters, including Taiwan.
Beijing has repeatedly accused the US of spearheading the Quad to encircle the rising Asian power.
However, China has no reason to fear the Quad, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
“This is not military, but just practical cooperation,” Hayashi said at the Raisina Dialogue forum in New Delhi.
“As long as even China abides by the laws and international norms, and also acts under the international institutions, standards and laws, then this is not a conflicting issue between China and the Quad,” he said.
The ministers said they discussed joint efforts including building the resilience of supply chains and working together on vaccine delivery.
Meanwhile, the Quad allies yesterday released another statement saying that Russia cannot be allowed to wage war with impunity.
A day earlier in New Delhi, Blinken met Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the Russian invasion began.
During the brief encounter, Blinken urged Moscow to end the war and reverse its suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, a senior US official said.
Moscow said that Lavrov and Blinken spoke for less than 10 minutes and did not engage in any negotiations, Russian news agencies reported.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
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A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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